Glassware mold forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

A glassware forming apparatus including at least one split below mold moveable between an open and closed position. At least one bottom plate is mounted on the machine for movement into and out of engagement with the blow mold. The means for moving the bottom plate is separate from the means for moving the blow mold. Additionally, a mechanism is provided for moving the bottom plate toward the blow mold along a path in which the bottom plate first pivots about a fixed pivot point and then moves along a straight line coaxial with the axis of the blow mold.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 179,381, filed8/18/80 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,264.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a glass forming machine of the press and blowtype in which a parison is first pressed in a blank mold by a pressingplunger and the parison is then subsequently blown to its final shape ina blow mold, and to auxiliary equipment for use with such machine. Thistype of machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,211 which issued on Oct.30, 1934 to G. E. Rowe. This patent is hereby incorporated by referencein this disclosure in its entirety. A machine which is commonly used inthe glass industry today and which substantially embodies the structureshown in this patent is known as the "Emhart H-28 Machine." This type ofmachine is a single table, continuous rotary motion machine having aplurality of individual forming units mounted for rotation about theaxis of the machine. These machines have been available with differentnumbers of individual forming units such as 6, 12 or 18 sections. Eachindividual forming unit produces one glassware article for each completerevolution or cycle of the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As mentioned above, the glassware forming machine of the type shown inthe U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,211 produces only one glassware article persection for each revolution or cycle of the machine. An importantfeature of this invention is the provision of a machine of the rotarytable type which is capable of producing a plurality of articles perindividual forming unit per single rotation or cycle of the machine.Accordingly, the machine of the present invention utilizes a pluralityof individual forming units each of which has a plurality of blank moldsand blow molds whereby a plurality of glassware articles may be made ina single unit during a cycle.

Additionally, the machine of the present invention incorporates variousimprovements over the H-28 machine. More specifically, the machineincorporates an improved neck ring structure, a neck ring quickdisconnect, a unique rotating bottom plate structure, unique blow moldspraying, an improved blow head operating mechanism and an improvedstructural arrangement. Further, the delivery system for delivering gobsof glass to the blank molds of an individual forming unit has novelcharacteristics as well as the takeout mechanism and transfer mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various novel features of the present invention will be more readilyunderstood by reference to the following description and theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view showing the machine and deliverysystem of the present invention with only two of the individual formingunits shown.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic elevational view showing the variouscomponents of an individual forming unit of the machine of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a digrammatic plan view showing the relationship of variouscomponents of the machine, the takeout and the transfer mechanism of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the relationship of variouscomponents of the machine as the machine rotates about its axis.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the delivery system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the relationship of variouscomponents of the delivery system in relation to the blank molds.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the delivery system taken alongthe line 7--7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the pneumatic control system for movingthe scoops between their in and out positions.

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view of the operating mechanisms of anindividual forming unit with the neck rings omitted for the sake ofclarity.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the lines 10--10 of FIG. 9 withthe neck ring included.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the neck ring assembly and neck ring drivinggear.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12-12 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bearing supportingthe neck ring assembly.

FIG. 14 is a partial plan view of an individual forming unit with theblank molds in their up position.

FIG. 15 is an elevational view of a portion of an individual formingunit with the blow molds in their operative or closed position.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view through the neck ring arm of an individualforming unit.

FIG. 17 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines 17--17 of FIG.9.

FIG. 18 is an elevational view of an alternative embodiment of a bottomplate to be used with the blow molds.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along the lines 19--19 of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines 20--20 of FIG.18.

FIG. 21 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the bottom plate.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of the blow head mechanism of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 is an elevational view taken along the lines 23--23 of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along the lines 24--24 of FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a partial plan view of the blow head mechanism partiallybroken away to reveal the detailed construction of the cam and camfollower.

FIGS. 26-28, 28A, 29-35 are schematic diagrams illustrating in sequencethe movement of the various components of the individual forming machineand the operation thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. General Machine Structure

Referring to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1 and 2, the machinegenerally includes a base member 2 which may be provided with suitablyleveling screws 4. Mounted upon the base member 2 is a stationary camdrum base member 6 which forms a chamber to which cooling wind may beadmitted for a purpose to be described. Positioned above the cam drumbase member 6 and suitable secured thereto is a stationary cylindricalcam drum 8 having a plurality of circumferentially extending,horizontally spaced, cam receiving grooves indicated generally by thenumber 10 in which may be secured cam members 12 at the desiredpositions. An upwardly extending stationary column 14 extends throughthe central portion of the base member 6 and cam drum 8.

About the cam drum base member 6 and mounted on the base member 2 is astationary bearing structure 16, annular in form and adapted to supporta bearing 18 positioned between it and a lower turret ring 20. The lowerturret ring 20 is rotatable about the machine axis 22. An upper turretring 24 is mounted for rotation about a bearing portion 26 at the upperend of the column 14 above the cam drum 8. Above the stationary column14 and the upper turret ring 24 is a fluid distributing device 28. Thismay be of the type conventional with machines of this type and mayinclude an air inlet 30, a water inlet 32 and a lubricating oil inlet34.

A plurality of individual forming units 36 have their main upright framemembers 38 attached at their upper end to the upper turret ring 24 andat their lower end to the lower turret ring 20. Each of the individualforming units 36 include suitable forming mechanisms for completelyforming articles of the desired type. Although, according to thepreferred embodiment, there is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 twelve of theseindividual forming units 36, it is to be understood that other multiplesmay be provided, as for example, six or eighteen of such units.

A delivery system 39 is provided for feeding gobs of glass from a feedermechanism 40 including a shears 42 to cut the gobs to the plurality ofblank molds 44 of each individual forming unit 36. According to thepreferred embodiment, each individual forming unit 36 is adapted toreceive two gobs of glass at one time in two blank molds and thus formtwo glass articles simultaneously. It is to be understood however, thatmore than two gobs may be fed simultaneously as for example, three, andin such case three blank molds would be provided in each individualforming unit.

A takeout mechanism 46 is provided as shown in FIG. 3 to take the blownglass articles from the individual forming units 36 and deposit them ona transfer mechanism 48. The transfer mechanism 48 transfers thearticles from the takeout mechanism to a takeaway conveyor 50 whichtransports the articles to a lehr (not shown) for annealing as is wellknown in the art.

Suitable driving means, as shown in FIG. 3, is provided for impartingcontinuous rotation to the turret rings 20 and 24 and the attachedforming units 36, and for driving the delivery system 39 and the takeoutmechanism 46 in synchronism with the machine. The driving means mayinclude a suitable prime mover 52 such as a motor or the like which isconnected to an output shaft 54 through a gear reducer 56. The outputshaft extends vertically upwardly and has mounted thereon a pinion 58.The pinion 58 meshes with a ring gear 60 which is attached to the lowerturret ring 20. The ring gear 60 in turn drives other pinions to providethe drive for other mechanisms. A delivery pinion 62, in meshingengagement with the ring gear 60, is connected through a series ofshafts and bevel gear boxes indicated generally by the numeral 64 to thedelivery mechanism 39. Similarly, a takeout drive pinion 66 is connectedthrough a series of shafts and bevel gear boxes indicated generally by70 to the takeout mechanism 46. Another pinion 72 is attached by asuitable shaft 74 to a stop and brake mechanism 76. The feeder andshears are run by their own synchronous motor 80 which is electricallyphased with the motor 52 driving the ring gear 60 by means of anelectrical differential 82.

Generally, each individual forming unit 36 includes a plurality of blankmolds 44 for receiving gobs of glass from the delivery mechanism 39simultaneously. A press head 84 having plungers equal in number to thenumber of blank molds 44 is provided for pressing the gobs of glass intothe parisons in the blank molds as the forming unit 36 rotates aroundthe axis of the machine. A plurality of neck rings 86 are included tohold the articles during processing. A plurality of blow molds 88 areprovided, equal in number to the number of blank molds 44 with a bottomplate 90 for closing the blow molds 88 to form a cavity wherein theparison is blown in its final shape. The finally blown articles aredeposited on a dead plate 92 of the takeout mechanism 46 and are thendeposited onto the takeaway conveyor mechanism 50 by means of thetransfer mechanism 48.

II. Delivery Mechanism

The delivery mechanism 39 is shown in detail in FIGS. 5-7 of thedrawings. To feed a gob from each of the plurality of orifices of thefeeder 40 to each of the plurality of blank molds 44, there is provideda plurality of gob guiding units 94 and 96, one associated with eachfeeder orifice. Each of the gob guiding units 94 and 96 comprises ascoop 98, a trough 100 and a deflector 102. The scoops 98 receive a gobfrom the feeder 40, and direct it to the downwardly extending straighttrough 100 after which the deflector 102 deflects the gob into one ofthe blank molds 44 as the molds are rotating about the machine axis 220.In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, there aretwo such gob guiding units 94 and 96, one for each of the two blankmolds 44 of the forming units 36. In the event the forming units 36utilized more than two blank molds 44, additional guiding units would beprovided.

Each of the gob guiding units 94 and 96 is mounted on a delivery arm 104having an upstanding bracket 106 thereon. Each delivery arm and bracketunit 104, 106 is pivotally attached at an upper pivot point 108 and alower pivot point 110 having the same axis as the upper pivot point 108to a frame member 112 extending upwardly under the feeder 40.

An upper bracket member 114 is attached to each of the brackets 106 andincludes upwardly extending spaced side plate members 116 and 118. Ascoop 98 is attached to an arm member 120 which is pivotally mounted atthe upper end of each of the upper brackets 114 by means of a shaft 122which is rotatable in the upper bracket member 114. Two piston andcylinder mechanisms 124 are mounted on the frame member 112 in aposition horizontally offset with respect to the scoop member 98 withwhich it is associated. Each mechanism 124 includes a piston rod 126extending upwardly and which is attached by a turnbuckle linkage 128 toa lever arm 130 which is in turn connected to the shaft 122. Both endsof each turnbuckle linkage 128 include ball joints to provide thenecessary freedom of movement to permit the gob guiding units 94 and 96to pivot about their pibot points 108, 110. The turnbuckle permits thelower end of a scoop 98 to be adjusted relative to the upper end of atrough 100. With reference to FIG. 7, it will be seen that uponactuation of the piston and cylinder mechanism 124 associated witheither of the scoop members in a manner to move the piston roddownwardly, the scoop 98 will rotate about the shaft 122 in acounterclockwise direction into the phantom line position, and permit agob to fall into the cullet chute 130 and thus interrupt feeding of thegob to a blank mold. As each scoop 98 can be disabled by its associatedpiston and cylinder mechanism individually, it is possible to haveeither one of the scoops rendered inoperative or both renderedinoperative as will be explained in detail below.

Each trough member 100 has its upper end pivotally mounted on a pivotshaft 132 attached to an intermediate portion of the side plates 114,116 with its lower end extending through a rectangular bracket member134. An adjusting screw 136 extends up through the bracket 136 intoengagement with the bottom surface of a trough 100 to provide a meansfor raising and lowering the bottom end of the trough by pivoting itabout the pivot point 132 and adjusting the bottom end of the trough 94with respect to the deflector 102.

Each deflector 102 is mounted on an arm 138 having its upper endpivotally attached by a vertical pivot shaft 140 to the bracket 134, anadjusting mechanism being attached to its lower end surface to permitthe lower end of the deflector to be arcuately moved around the axis.

The two gob guiding units 94 and 96 are adapted to be oscillated abouttheir respective pivot points 108 by means of a flat cam member 152having a cam track 154 in its upper surface. The cam member 152 isadapted to be continuously rotated by virtue of its being mounted on avertically extending shaft 156 which is connected to the delivery pinion62 by means of the shaft and bevel gear boxes 64 shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 6, a cam roller 158 is attached to the deflector arm ofthe gob guiding unit 96 and is positioned within the cam track 154 ofthe cam. The deflector arm 104 associated with the gob guiding unit 96is interconnected to the deflector arm 104 of the gob guiding unit 94,by means of a control link 160 pivotally connected at its opposite endsto the respective arms 104. Referring to FIG. 3, the two blank moldswhen they are in their outer position, have their vertical axis on twodifferent radii from the center of the machine and also, the length ofeach radius is different. The one with the larger radius is referred toas the outer blank mold and the one with the smaller radius is referredto as the inner blank mold. Thus, the inner blank mold has a lowertangential velocity than the outer blank mold, and, in a fixed period oftime, the inner blank mold will travel a peripheral distance smallerthan the peripheral distance traveled by the outer blank mold.Accordingly, by proper positioning of the control link pivot points ontheir respective bracket arms for a given spacing of the blank molds 44,the relative tangential velocity of the vertical axis 162 of the bottomend of each deflector 102 can be varied so that the gob guiding unit 94serving the inner blank mold will travel a lesser peripheral distancefor a given amount of time than the peripheral distance traveled by thevertical axis 162 of the gob guiding unit 96 serving the outer blankmold.

By offsetting the pivot points 108 of the gob guiding units 94 and 96from the centerlines 164 of their respective orifices as shown in FIG.6, the relation of movement of the axes 162 of the deflectors along thedashed line 165 is more nearly tangential to the movement of the axis ofthe blank molds along the dashed line 166. As the pivot points 108 areoffset with respect to the orifice centerlines 164, the vertical axis ofthe top of each scoop 98 will travel along the dashed line 167. However,as the distance of offset is relatively small and the angle 168 throughwhich the axis of each scoop 98 travels is small, it can be seen fromFIG. 6 that the position of the axis of each scoop does not deviatesignificantly from being coaxial with the centerline of its respectiveorifice. In other words, for practical purposes, except when a scoop isin its locked-out position, or the unit is removed, each scoop is underits respective orifice at all other times.

The control system for moving each of the scoops 98 between their in orfeeding position and their out or disabled position is shown in FIG. 8.Machine operating air is fed through a pressure regulator 170 to a scooplockout and reset valve 172, a scoop in valve 174, a scoop out valve176, a scoop actuator valve 178, a shut down valve 180 and a brake valve182.

The scoop actuator valve 178 is used to control the flow of operatingair to the scoop cylinders 184, 186 and is pilot operated by air to moveit into its first or scoop-out position as shown in the drawing whereinmachine air is fed through a suitable conduit 188 to the upper sides ofeach piston 190 of the piston and cylinder mechanism 124 of theindividual scoops to move the piston 190 downwardly and move each scoop98 into its out or disabled position. In this position of the scoopactuator valve 178, air from below the piston 190 passes through conduit192 and through the scoop actuator valve 178 to be exhausted. Movementof the scoop actuator valve 178 into its second or scoop-in positionconnects the machine operating air with conduit 192 to feed machine airto the bottom side of each of the pistons 190 to raise the pistons 190and move the scoops 98 into their in or feeding position, with air fromthe upper side of the pistons 190 being exhausted through conduit 188.

The scoop lockout and reset valve 172 is used if it is desired to moveboth scoops 98 into their out position during operation of the machineand must also be set in its reset position at start-up so that a scoopreset valve 194 when actuated, will cause the scoop actuator valve 178to move into its second position. For this purpose, the scoop lockoutand reset valve 172, in its reset position as shown in FIG. 8, connectsmachine air to a conduit 196 running to a port in the scoop reset valve194. In the lockout position, machine air is connected by conduit 198through a two-way check valve 200 to a conduit 202 running to therighthand pilot side of the scoop actuator valve 178 to actuate thepilot to move the scoop actuator valve 178 into its first or scoop-outposition. The scoop lockout and reset valve 172 is manually actuatedinto its lockout and reset positions.

The scoop reset valve 194 is a manually actuated, spring return valvehaving a normally off position. When the scoop reset valve 194 isactuated, machine air flowing through the conduit 196 from the scooplockout and reset valve 192 passes through the scoop reset valve 194 toa conduit 204 and through a two-way check valve 206 to a conduit 208running to the lefthand side of the scoop actuator valve 198 to causethe scoop actuator valve to move into its second or scoop-in position.

The scoop in and scoop out valves 174 and 176 are cam actuated, springreturn valves which are mounted on the delivery frame member 112 in aposition to be contacted by a cam 210 mounted on the press head 84 ofeach individual forming unit 36. The cam 210 on each forming unit ismanually adjustable between an outer, valve actuating position and aninner, nonactuating position shown in phantom in FIG. 8. The scoop outvalve 176 is positioned such that it will be actuated prior to scoop invalve 174 upon rotation of a forming unit 36. In the normal nonactuatedposition of both the scoop in and scoop out valves 174 and 176, the flowof machine air entering the valve is blocked. However, when the scoopout valve 176 is actuated by cam 210, the valve is moved into itsactuated position wherein machine air will flow through the valve to atwo directional check valve 212 and the check valve 200 to conduit 202to the righthand pilot side of the scoop actuator valve 178 and actuatethe pilot to move the scoop actuator valve 178 into its first orscoop-out position thereby disabling both scoops. When the cam 210actuates the scoop in valve 174, machine air can pass through the valveand check valve 206 through conduit 208 to the lefthand pilot side ofthe scoop actuator valve 178 to actuate the pilot to move the scoopactuator valve 178 into its second position wherein each scoop 98 ismoved into its in or feeding position.

A stop gate 214 is provided on the machine in a position to be trippedby either an operator or by an improperly functioning mechanism on anindividual unit as the machine rotates. The stop gate when closed and inits normal position normally actuates a stop gate valve 216 into itssecond or actuated position providing communication between a conduit218 running from the brake valve 182 and a pressure switch 220. The stopgate valve 216 is shown in its first or inactivated position in thedrawing.

The brake valve 182 is pilot operated into its first position shown inthe drawing and is manually actuated into its second or runningposition. In the first position, machine operating air is fed throughthe brake valve 182 to the brake mechanism 76 for actuation thereof, andexhaust from the pressure switch passes through conduit 218 and throughthe brake valve 182 to be exhausted if the stop gate valve 216 is in itsactuated position. When the brake valve 182 is in its second or runningposition, machine operating air is fed through the conduit 218 to thestop gate valve 216 and provides a means for exhausting fluid from thebrake mechanism 76.

The shut down valve 180 is solenoid actuated with a spring return. Whenthe pressure switch 220 is actuated by machine air coming from the brakevalve 182 through the stop gate valve 216, an electrical circuit iscompleted in which the solenoid actuator of the shut down valve 180 islocated. In its nonactuated position, as shown, the shut down valve 180provides a connection for machine air to pass through conduit 223 to thepilot of the brake valve 82 to actuate the brake valve 182 into itsfirst position. Additionally, machine air is fed by conduit 225 throughthe check valves 212 and 200 and conduit 202 to the righthand pilot sideof the scoop actuator valve 178 to move the scoop actuator valve 178into its first or scoop out position. When the solenoid actuator of theshut down valve 180 is actuated and the shut down valve 180 is movedinto its second position, the flow of machine air to the pilot actuatorsof the brake valve 182 and the scoop actuator valve 178 is cut off andthe lefthand pilot side of the brake valve is connected to exhaust.

Two scoop selector valves 227 and 229 are provided, one positioned inthe conduit running to the bottom side of the pistons in one of thescoop cylinders 186 and the other in the conduit running to the bottomside of the piston in the other one of the scoop cylinders 104. Each ofthese valves is manually actuatable between two positions, the first ofwhich permits flow from conduit 192 to the scoop cylinder 184 or 186. Inthe second position, or blank out position, flow from conduit 192 to thescoop cylinder 184 or 186 is blocked and the bottom side of the piston190 is vented to atmosphere.

Assuming that the machine has been shut down, the scoops 98 are in theirout or disabled position and that the stop gate 214 has been opened, itis first necessary to close the stop gate 214 to position the stop gatevalve 216 in its second or actuted position. To complete the startingcycle, the brake valve 182 must be manually reset into its secondposition so that machine operating air will flow through the stop gatevalve 182 to the pressure switch 220 which, when closed, will actuatethe shut down valve 180 into its second position and remove the pilotair from the brake valve 182 and the scoop actuator valve 178. When itis then desired to move the scoops 98 to their feeding position, thescoop reset valve 194 is actuated so that machine operating air flowsthrough the scoop lockout and reset valve 172, through the scoop resetvalve 194 to the lefthand pilot side of the scoop actuator valve 178 tomove it into its second position wherein machine air can flow throughconduit 192 to the bottom side of the pistons 190 and raise the pistons190 to move the scoops 98 into their feeding position.

In some instances it may be desirable to only feed one of the blankmolds for a period of time. For example, upon start-up it may bedesirable that the blank mold to the rear of the forming unit be fedglass first so that the glass can be removed from that blank mold andits associated blow mold until the molds reach their proper temperatureand satisfactory glass articles are being produced. At that point, glasscan also be fed to the front blank mold and its associated blow moldwhereupon glass can be removed from those molds until the molds havereached their proper temperature and satisfactory glass articles arebeing produced. In the meantime, the articles being produced in the rearmolds can be allowed to continue being processed through the lehr in theconventional manner. To lockout one of the scoops, its associated scoopselector valve 227 or 229 may be actuated into its second position.Then, when the scoop reset valve 194 is actuated and the scoop actuatorvalve 178 is actuated into its second position to enable machineoperating air to pass to conduit 192, machine air will be blocked to thescoop cylinder 184 or 186 whose valve 227 or 229 has been actuated andthe scoop 98 will remain in its out or disabled position. Machineoperating air will flow to the other of the scoop cylinders 184 or 186to move that scoop 98 into its feeding position.

If, when the machine is running, if it is desired to move both of thescoops 98 into their disabled or out position, the scoop lockout andreset valve 172 is actuated into its lockout position whereupon machineoperating air will be fed to the righthand pilot side of the scoopactuator valve 178 to move it into its first position whereupon machineair flows to the top side of the pistons 190 through conduit 188 and thescoops 98 are moved into their disabled position. When it is thendesired to move the scoops 98 back to their feeding position, the scooplockout and reset valve 172 is moved into its reset position and thescoop reset valve 194 is manually actuated to move the scoop actuatorvalve 178 into its second or scoop-in position.

The scoop in and scoop out valves 174 and 176 provide a means fordisabling the feeding of gobs of glass to one forming unit duringoperation while feeding gobs to the others. If it is desired not to feedgobs to a forming unit 26, the cam 210 associated with that unit ismoved into its out position. Thus, as the machine rotates and thatforming unit is moved to a position underneath the delivery mechanism,the cam 210 will actuate the scoop out valve 176 causing machine air toflow through conduit 202 to the righthand pilot side of the scoopactuator valve 178 moving it into its first or disabled position whichcauses the scoops to be disabled. Continued rotation of the formingunit, after a passage of time sufficient to allow the sheared gob tofall into the cullet chute, results in the cam 210 actuating the scoopin valve 174 which, when actuated, causes machine air to flow throughconduit 208 to the lefthand pilot side of scoop actuator valve 178 andactuate it into its second position whereby machine operating air willflow through conduit 192 to the bottom side of the piston 190 to movethe scoops 98 into their feeding position.

In the event that the stop gate 214 is opened for any reason, the stopgate valve 216 will move into its first position whereupon machine airto the pressure switch 220 is blocked and the pressure switch 220 willopen causing the shut down valve 180 to be deenergized and moved intoits first position and also deenergize the machine drive motor 52.Movement of the shut down valve 180 into its first position results inmachine operating air being fed to the pilot side of the brake valve 182to cause actuation of the brake mechanism and also causes machineoperating air to flow to the righthand pilot side of the scoop actuatorvalve 178 to move it into its first position so that both scoops 98 willbe disabled.

III. Individual Forming Unit

As each of the individual forming units are preferably identical, thedescription of the various mechanisms with respect to one such unit willsuffice with the understanding that the description thereof isapplicable to all units.

Neck Ring Mechanism

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 14-16, a neck ring arm or plate member 222extends horizontally outwardly from the machine in a radial direction,and is attached at its inner end to the forming unit frame member 38.The neck ring arm is provided with two openings 224, 226 as shown inFIG. 16, the axes of which are spaced apart in a horizontal directionalong a radius of the machine so that the axes of each lies in avertical plane which passes through the axis of rotation of the machine.

A neck ring assembly 228 is mounted within each of the openings. FIGS.10-13 show the details of one of the two identical neck ring assemblies228. Each neck ring assembly 228 includes a generally circular neck ringholder 230 in which four neck ring jaws 232 are pivotally mounted on ahorizontal axis 234. Attached to the bottom surface of each of the neckring jaws 232 is a quarter segment of a neck ring 236, which, when allfour segments are in their closed position, form a complete circle. Aplunger holder 238 having a circular cross-section has a plurality offlanges 240 extending radially outwardly which are secured to webportions 242 on the neck ring holder 230. Attached to the bottom end ofthe plunger holder is a plunger ring 244. The plunger ring has acircular cross-section, an inner surface 246 which tapers inwardly anddownwardly, and a bottom surface provided with a circular groove 248.

The neck ring holder 230 has a plurality of outward extendingprojections or bayonets 250 on its bottom outer edge which mate withinwardly extending projections or bayonets 252 on the top inner edge ofa ring gear 254 to provide a quick release bayonet connection betweenthe neck ring assembly 228 and the ring gear 254.

Each of the neck ring jaws 232 includes a projection 256 which extendsabove the upper surface of the neck ring holder and which is providedwith an outer curved surface 258. Two legs 260, 262 extend downwardlyfrom an upper portion 264 from which the projection 256 extends to abase portion 266. The base portion 266 has inner and outer curvedsurfaces. Intermediate tne ends of each leg portion 260, 262 is anaperture 268 through which a pin member 270 passes. The dowel member ismounted at each end in spaced downwardly extending lugs 272 on the neckring holder 230 whereby each neck ring jaw 232 and thus the neck ringsegment 236 is free to pivot about the pin member 270 on axes 234. Aspring member 274, wound around each pin member 270 has its upper endmounted in an aperture 276 in an inwardly extending tongue 278 on theneck ring holder 230, and its lower end wrapped around a peg 280extending from one of the legs 260 of the jaw member 232. Each spring274 urges its respective jaw member 232 and its attached neck ringsegment 236 into its closed position with its upper inner surfaceengaging the outer surface of the plunger ring 244.

The ring gear 254 associated with each of the neck ring assemblies 228has a downwardly extending flange 282 which is mounted on the upper race284 of a ball bearing assembly 286. The lower race 288 of the ballbearing assembly is mounted in a counterbore 290 in the opening 224 inthe neck ring arm 222. As shown in FIG. 13, the lower race 288 includesa groove 290 which in cross-section has a radius slightly larger thanthe radius of the ball members positioned therein. The running surface292 of the upper race 284 which bears upon the ball members 294 is flat.A flange 296 extends downwardly at the inner edge of the upper race 284and includes a generally flat upper inner surface 298 perpendicular tothe upper running surface 292 and an inner lower tapering surface 300tapering downwardly and away from the ball member 294. When the upperrace 284 is in its downward position, the ball members 294 are containedvertically between the upper running surface 292 of the upper race 284and the groove 290 in the lower race 288. Also in that position, theflat surface 298 of the flange 296 of the upper race member 284 engagesthe ball members 294 which in turn are pressed against the innervertical surface 302 of an upstanding flange 304 at the outer edge ofthe lower race 288. When the upper race 284 is raised relative to thelower race 288, so that the flange 296 of the upper race 284 is raisedinto the dotted line position as shown in FIG. 13, the tapering surface300 of the flange 296 will be adjacent the innermost portion of the ballmembers 294 and clearance will be provided between the ball members 294and the flange 296 whereby the upper race 284 can float in a horizontalplane for a purpose to be explained below.

The ring gears 254 attached to the neck ring holders 230 of both neckring assemblies 232, are in meshing engagement with a suitable gear (notshown) attached to the drive shaft of an air motor 306 (FIGS. 14 and15). Suitable motive air is provided to the motor by a suitable conduit(not shown) connected through a cam actuated valve (not shown) mountedon the frame 38 actuated by the cam follower 308 which is in turnactuated by a cam positioned within cam slot 310 on the cam drum 8. Asuitable cover member 314 is attached to the neck ring arm 222 andencloses the outer surface of both ring gears 254 and the air motor ringgear.

A neck ring opening mechanism 316 is provided as shown in FIGS. 10, 14and 15 which includes a neck ring cam ring 318 having downwardlyprojecting tapering cam surfaces 320 adapted to engage the curved outersurface 258 of the projections 256 of the neck ring jaws 232 of eachneck ring assembly 228 when moved in a downward direction. The neck ringcam ring 318 in a position intermediate the neck ring assemblies 228 isprovided with an upstanding lug 322 having an aperture horizontallytherethrough. A neck ring lever 324 has two outer legs 326 pivotallyattached to brackets 328 extending upwardly from the neck ring arm 222by means of a removable pin member 330 extending therethrough. Toprevent inadvertent removal of the pin member 330, the pin is providedwith an undercut 332 in its surface for the reception of a hook member333 pivotally attached to one of the brackets 328. The neck ring lever324 includes a first body portion 334 having an opening therein toprovide clearance for the plunger holder 238 of the outer neck ringassembly 228 and a second body portion 336 having an opening therein forclearance of the plunger holder 238 of the inner neck ring assembly 228.The two body portions are interconnected by two webs 338 having anaperture therethrough. The lug 322 of the neck ring cam ring 318 extendsupwardly between the two webs 338 and is mounted for rotation withrespect to the neck ring lever 324 by means of a shaft member 340extending through the apertures in the lugs 322 and webs 338. The neckring lever 324 includes two arms 342 extending rearwardly toward theframe 38 of the individual forming unit 36 and having a slot 344 intheir end face. A leaf spring 346, provided at its outer end withcylindrical member 348, is mounted in each of the slots 344 of the arms342 with the cylindrical member 348 positioned within the slot 344. Theother end of the leaf spring 346 is attached to a crank shaft 350 bysuitable means as shown. The crank 352 attached to the crank shaft 350is attached to an elongated rod member 354 which in turn is attached toone end of a rocker shaft cam follower 356 which is mounted for pivotalmovement about an upstanding pivot point mounted on the frame member 38of the individual forming unit 36. The opposite end of the cam follower356 is provided with a cam roller 358 to engage a cam 360 in a cam slot362 of the cam drum 8 of the machine.

A spring member 364 is provided between the cam follower 356 and theframe 38 to bias the cam roller 358 toward the cam drum 8 and thus, asviewed in FIGS. 14 and 15, to bias the rod member 354 to the righttoward the front of the forming unit 36. This in turn tends to rotatethe crank shaft 350 counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 15 causing theleaf springs 346 to rotate counterclockwise and in turn lifting the endof the leaf springs 346 engaging the neck ring lever 324 to rotate theneck ring lever 324 clockwise about the axis of the pin member 330. Thismovement lifts the neck ring cam ring 318 up and out of engagement withthe projections 256 on the neck ring jaws 232.

When the cam roller 358 engages the cam 360 on the cam drum 8, the rodmember 354 is moved rearwardly of the forming unit 36 and the crank arm352 is pivoted clockwise as viewed in FIG. 15, causing the leaf spring346 to force the neck ring lever 324 and the neck ring cam ring 318 topivot downwardly about the axis of the pin member 330. When the neckring cam ring 318 is pivoted downwardly, the cam surface 320 thereofwill engage the curved surface 258 of both of the neck ring jaws 232causing the neck ring jaws 232 to pivot about their axis 234 and againstthe bias of their spring members 274 with the result that the neck ringsegments 236, attached to each neck ring jaw 232 move outwardly torelease the glassware article.

To provide for manual release of glassware articles held by the neckring assemblies 228, a lever member 366 is attached to the end of thecrankshaft 350 opposite the crank arm 352 and extends forwardly in theforming unit 36 terminating in a handle 368. Pushing the handle 368downwardly rotates the crank shaft 350 to cause the neck ring cam ring318 to pivot downwardly and open the neck ring segments 236.

The bayonet connection between the neck ring assemblies 228 and the ringgear 254 provide a means for quickly changing the neck ring assemblies.To change one or both of the neck ring assemblies 228, the pin member330 attaching the neck ring lever 324 to the neck ring arm 222 may beremoved and the neck ring lever 324 and the neck ring cam ring 318 maybe lifted off the neck ring assemblies 228. The neck ring assemblies 228may then be rotated relative to ring gear 254 to align the bayonets topermit withdrawal of the neck ring assembly 228 relative to the ringgear and neck ring arm 222.

Blank Molds and Press Head

Referring to FIGS. 2, 9 and 10, a bracket member 370 extends outwardlyfrom the lower end of the frame member 38 of each forming unit 36.Mounted on the bracket member 370 is a blank mold actuating mechanism372 which includes a vertically extending stationary piston rod 374having a stationary piston member 376 thereon. The piston rod 374extends from the bracket 370 to a boss 378 on the neck ring arm or platemember 222. A movable blank mold cylinder 380, is provided with thepiston member 376 mounted therein. Extending from the cylinder 380 is acam follower 382 having a roller member 384 positioned within a camtrack 386 in a cylindrical cam 388 which is mounted on the bracketmember 370. Extending outwardly from the cylinder is a blank mold holderarm 390 to which is attached two blank mold holders 392 and 394.

Each of the blank mold holders 392 and 394 has a blank mold 396 thereinwhich includes a foot portion 398 having an upper surface 400 engaged bya spring biased locking pin 402 which prevents vertical withdrawal ofthe blank mold 396 from its blank mold holder 392 or 394. The upper endof each blank mold holder 392 and 394 is in engagement with its blankmold 396 around the circumference thereof as shown in FIG. 10.

The cam track 386 in the cylindrical cam 388 is adapted to impart rotarymotion around the axis of the piston rod 374 to the blank mold holderarm as the cylinder 380 moves up and down. In the lower position, theblank molds 396 are positioned downwardly and outwardly with respect tothe neck ring assemblies 228. Thus as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, when thecylinder 380 is in its lower position, it can be seen that the axis ofthe outer blank mold 396 is positioned a greater distance from the axisof the machine in a radial direction than the other inner blank mold396. Additionally, a plane passing through the axis of the outer blankmold 396 and the axis of the machine is angularly offset in thedirection of rotation of the machine with respect to the plane passingthrough the axis of the inner blank mold 396 and the axis of rotation ofthe machine. Upon movement upwardly of the blank mold cylinder 380, thecam track 386 serves to rotate the cyliner 380 so that the blank molds396 pivot about the axis of the piston and are positioned under the neckring assemblies 228 wherein the axes of both blank molds 396 lie in aplane passing through the axis of rotation of the machine as shown inFIG. 4. As will be noted from the shape of the cam slot in FIG. 2,rotation of the cylinder 380 about the piston rod 376 takes place duringthe initial upper movement of the cylinder 380, while the latter part ofthe upper movement is substantially vertical with no rotation.

Referring to FIG. 10, as was mentioned before, the neck ring assembly228 is capable of floating in a horizontal plane when the upper race 284of the bearing assembly 286 is raised. Thus, as each blank mold 396 ismoved upwardly and engages the bottom surface of the neck ring segments236, the neck ring assembly 228 is raised lifting the upper race off thebearing whereupon the neck ring assembly 228 can float to properly alignitself with the blank mold 396. When the blank molds 396 are moved totheir lower position, neck ring assembly 228 moves downwardly so thatthe upper race 284 is again in contact with the ball members 294 and theneck ring assembly 228 becomes fixed in a horizontal plane.

A system is provided for cooling the sides of each blank mold 396 and aseparate system is provided for cooling the bottom of each blank mold396. As shown in FIG. 10, a suitable conduit 404 is provided through theblank mold holder arm 390 and the bottom of the blank mold holders 392and 394 to a chamber 406 between the side of each blank mold 396 and theinterior of its blank mold holder 392 or 394. Suitable openings 408 inthe sidewall of each blank mold holder 392 and 394 provide an exit forcooling air as indicated in FIG. 10. For cooling the bottom surface ofeach blank mold 396, a suitable conduit 410 extends into a chamber 412in each blank mold holder 392 or 394 and extends into a recess 414 inthe bottom of each blank mold 396. A horizontally extending exit port416 is provided between the chamber 412 in each of the blank moldholders 392 and 394 and the atmosphere so that cooling air passingthrough the conduit 410 impinges upon the bottom surface of each blankmold 396 and exits through the port 416 to the atmosphere. Both conduits410 and 404 are connected in suitable manner to a supply of cooling airthrough adjusting valves positioned on the neck ring arm 222 immediatelybelow the valves 418 and 420 shown in FIG. 14.

The press head 84 as shown in FIG. 2 is of generally conventional designexcept that it includes two plunger members 420 and 422 for cooperatingwith the two blank molds 396. The press head 84 may include a generallyL-shaped bracket 424 attached to the upper portion of the frame unit 38.The L-shaped bracket 424 supports the upper end of a fixed piston rod426 having a fixed piston 428 thereon, while the lower end of the pistonrod is supported in the neck ring arm 222. A press head cylinder 430 ismounted about the fixed piston 428 and includes a rearward extendingflange portion 432 having a cam follower 434 mounted thereon whichengages a vertical cam track 436 on the bracket member 424. Each of theplunger members 420 and 422 includes a plunger portion 438 having anupwardly extending plunger rod 440 attached to the press head cylinder430 by a spring member 442. A plunger plate 444 is provided inassociation with each plunger member 420 and 422 and is spring biaseddownwardly. As shown in FIG. 10, when the press head cylinder is moveddownwardly by admission of operating air to the lower side of the fixedpiston 428 in conventional fashion, each plunger portion 438 passesthrough the plunger ring 244 of the neck ring assemby 228 and into itsassociated blank mold 396 with force being exerted on the plunger and bythe spring member 442. Each plunger plate 444 engages the upper surfaceof its associated plunger holder 238 and forces the plunger ring 244tightly against the neck ring segments 236 and the neck ring segments236 tightly against the blank mold 296.

Flow of operating air to both the blank mold cylinder 380 and the presshead cylinder 430 is controlled by cam actuated valves mounted on theframe 38. Referring to FIG. 2, a cam in cam groove 446 activates arocker arm cam follower 448 to actuate a suitable valve to causeoperating air to flow to the blank mold cylinder to raise the blankmolds 396. A cam positioned in cam groove 450 actuates a rocker arm camfollower 452 to actuate a suitable valve to cause operating air to flowto the blank mold cylinder 380 to lower the blank molds 396. Similarly,a cam in cam groove 454 actuates a rocker arm cam follower 456 toactuate a valve to cause operating air to flow to the press headcylinder 430 to cause its downward movement. A cam in cam groove 458actuates a rocker arm cam follower 460 to actuate a valve to causeoperating air to flow to the press head cylinder 430 to cause its upwardmovement.

FIG. 17 shows a means for providing lubrication of the roller member 384of the cam follower 382 of the blank mold cylinder 380. A bore 462 inthe base of the cylinder 380 provides communication between the interiorof the cylinder 380 and a vertical bore 464 in the cam follower shaft465. A longitudinal bore 466 provides communication between bore 464 anda vertical bore 468 which in turn provides communication with the innersurface of the roller member 384. As the interior of the cylinder 380normally contains some lubricant, when the cylinder is actuated to itsup position where the base approaches the piston member 376, lubricantis forced through the bores 462, 464, 466 and 468 to the inner surfaceof the roller member 384.

Blow Molds

The blow molds 88 shown in FIGS. 4, 9, 15 and 16 include a pair ofmolder holder arms 470 and 472 mounted in a suitable bearing structure474 pivoting into the open and closed positions about a lower extensionof the vertically extending piston rod 426 of the press head 84.Pivotally attached by a pivot pin 476 to each of the mold holder arms470 and 472 is a mold holder 478. Each mold holder 478 has an attachmentmechanism for suitably holding two half segments 480 and 482 of splitblow molds. To actuate the blow mold segments 480 and 482 into theiropen and closed positions there is provided a piston and cylindermechanism 484 having a bifurcated member 486 at the outer end of itspiston rod 488 in which two links 489 and 490 are pivotally mounted bypivot pins 491. One of the links 489 is pivotally attached to a boss 492on one of the molder holder arms 470 while the other link 490 ispivotally attached to a boss 494 on the other mold holder arm 472. Asshown in FIG. 16, the piston and cylinder mechanism 484 is attached tothe underside of the neck ring arm or plate member 222. The piston andcylinder mechanism 484 has suitable connections 496 for receivingoperating air for moving the piston rod 488 into the mold-open ormold-closed position. These connections are connected in a conventionalmanner (not shown) to a source of operating air through suitable camoperated spool valves 498 and 500 which are actuated by cams positionedin the cam grooves 502 and 504 as shown in FIG. 2. One valve 498controls air for opening the blow molds 88 while the other valve 500controls air for closing the blow molds 88.

The orientation of the blow molds 88 is such that when the blow moldsegments 480 and 482 are closed, their parting lines lie in a planewhich passes through the axis of rotation of the machine. Stated anotherway, the pivot axis of the blow molds lies in a plane containing thevertical axis of both neck ring assemblies 228 and which also containsthe axis of rotation of the machine.

Bottom Plates

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 15, the bottom plates 90 include an arm 506pivotally attached by pivot pin 508 to a side bracket 410 on the neckring plate or arm member 222. Attached to the end of the arm 506 is aplate member 510 in which two bottom plates 512 and 514 are mounted. Ata point intermediate its ends, the arm 506 is pivotally attached to theend of the piston rod 516 of a piston and cylinder mechanismm 518.Suitable conduits (not shown) are connected to the piston and cylindermechanism 518 for actuating the piston rod 516 outwardly to raise thebottom plates 512 and 514 into their up position as shown in FIG. 4 andto move the piston rod 516 in the opposite direction to move the bottomplates 512 and 514 into their lower position as shown in FIG. 2. Fluidflow in the conduits is controlled by cam actuated spool valve (notshown) mounted on the frame 38 in a conventional manner. The spoolvalves are actuated by cam followers 518 and 520 which are actuated bycams mounted in the cam grooves 522 and 524. The bottom plates 512 and514 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 move upwardly against thebottom end of each of the blow molds 88 as shown in FIG. 15.

FIGS. 18-21 show an alternative embodiment of the bottom plates.According to this embodiment an angular bottom plate arm 526 ispivotally attached to the side plate of the neck ring plate or armmember 222 by a pivot pin 528 in a manner similar to the previousembodiment. The free end of the bottom plate arm 526 is provided with agenerally cylindrical portion 530 having two opposed windows 532 and 534therein as well as two opposite side portions provided with flats 536.The upper and lower ends of the cylindrical portion is provided withupper and lower caps 538 and 540 as shown in FIG. 19. Mounted within thecylindrical portion 530 is an elongated screw shaft 542 having athreaded sleeve 544 secured thereon. The outer surface of the threadedsleeve 544 is in sliding engagement with an aperture 546 in the lowercap 540. A second sleeve member 548 is positioned about the screw shaft542 at a position immediately above the first threaded sleeve 544 andhas a portion of its outer surface in sliding engagement with anaperture 550 in the upper cap 538. A portion of the screw shaft 542 isprovided with an axially extending key slot 552 and the second sleevemember 548 is provided with a slot 554 therein whereby a key portion 556provided in the upper cap 538 extends through the second sleeve member548 into the key slot 552 in the screw shaft 542 to prevent relativerotation between the screw shaft 542 and the caps 538 and 540 and thecylindrical portion 53 of the bottom plate arm 526. A spring member 558is provided between the underside of the upper cap member 538 and aflange 560 at the lower portion of the second sleeve member 548 to biasthe screw shaft 542 into its lower position relative to the bottom platearm 526 wherein a flange portion 562 on the lower threaded sleeve 544engages the top surface of the lower cap 540.

Attached to the upper end of the screw shaft 542 is a bottom platebracket member 564 having two oppositely extending arms 566 and 568thereon. Each of the arm 566 and 568 is provided with an aperture 570 inwhich a supporting shaft 572 is keyed. A spring member 574 is positionedbetween an upper flange 576 on each of the supporting shafts 572 and theupper face of the bracket member 564 to urge the supporting shafts 572into their upper position in which they are restrained from furthermovement by a washer member 578. A bottom plate holder 580 is mounted onthe upper end of each of the supporting shafts 572 including a bearingassembly 582 to permit relative rotation between bottom plate holders580 and their supporting shafts 572. A plate member 584 serves to holdthe bottom plate holders 580 on the shafts 572.

A bottom plate 586 having a flange portion 588 provided with bayonets ismounted within each of the bottom plate holders 580 which are providedwith an in-turned flange 590 also provided with bayonets to provide abayonet connection between the bottom plates 586 and their bottom plateholders 580.

A spring biased detent 592 mounted within each of the bottom plateholders 580 engages each bottom plate 586 to prevent relative rotationbetween the bottom plates 586 and the bottom plate holders 580 so thatrotation of the bottom plates 586 will result in the bottom plateholders 580 rotating about the upper portion of their supporting shafts572 by virtue of the bearing assembly 582. To facilitate removal of eachbottom plate 586 with respect to its bottom plate holder 580, theunderside of each bottom plate holder 580 is provided with an aperture594 which is adapted to mate with a dowel 596 mounted in the bottomplate arm 526. When it is desired to disconnect a bottom plate 586 fromits bottom plate holder 580, the bottom plate 586 and bottom plateholder 580 may be depressed against the action of the spring member 574and rotated until the dowel pin is received within the aperture in thebottom plate holder. Continued rotation of the bottom plate 586 willresult in relative rotation between it and the bottom plate holder 580to align the bayonet connects in a position in which the bottom plate586 may be removed. Insertion of a new bottom plate is accomplished in asimilar manner.

As will be noted from FIG. 21, in some instances it is desirable thatthe bottom plate 586 extend up into the blow mold 88. This is true forexample in the case where the bottom plate 586 is used to form a flutedfoot on the bottom of a glassware article. In such a case it isdesirable that the bottom plate bracket member 564 have a straightstroke in a vertical direction as the bottom plates 586 are entering andbeing removed from the molds. For this purpose, a bifurcated lever arm598 is provided having one end connected to the fixed pivot pin 528 andeach of its free ends 600 and 602 pivotally attached to a sliding key604. Each sliding key 604 is positioned within one of the windows 532and 534 in the cylinder portion 530 of the bottom plate arm 526 and alsowithin a circumferential groove 606 in the threaded sleeve 544. Thesliding keys 604 permits the free ends of the lever arm 598 to move in ahorizontal plane with respect to the threaded sleeve 544. The piston rod516 of the piston and cylinder mechanism 518 of the type describedbefore is connected to the lever arm 598 by a pivotal connection 607 ata point intermediate the ends thereof. An adjustable stop member 608 ismounted in a boss 610 on the bottom plate arm 526 and is adapted toengage a stop surface 611 on the bottom of the bearing structure 474 ofthe blow molds 88 when the bottom plate arm 526 is in its upperposition. FIG. 19 shows the bottom plates after they have been pivotedabout the fixed pivot pin 528 to a point where the adjustable stopmember 608 abuts the stop surface 611. Further outward movement of thepiston rod 516 causes the lever arm 598 to continue its pivotingmovement which, because of the sliding connection of the sliding keys604 with respect to the threaded sleeve 544 translates into verticalmovement of the screw shaft 542 in an upward direction relative to thecylindrical portion 538 of the bottom plate arm 526. This upward motionis continued until the bottom plates 586 are properly seated within theblow molds 88. With the construction described, when the pistol rod 516is moved in the opposite direction, the screw shaft 542 is movedvertically downwardly in a straight stroke until the bottom plates 586are free of the blow molds 88.

A hand knob 612 attached to the threaded sleeves 544 is provided forrotating the threaded sleeve 544 relative to the screw shaft 542 foradjusting the height of the screw shaft 542 and thus the bottom plates586 relative to the bottom plate arm 526. This is accomplished due tothe fact that rotation of the hand knob 612 will result in axialmovement of the screw shaft 542 since the screw shaft 542 is preventedfrom rotating by means of the key portion 556 of the upper cap 538.

Thus, by virtue of the above described construction, the bottom plates586 can be pivoted about a fixed point during the first portion of itsmovement and then be vertically moved upwardly in a straight line toenter the bottom portion of the blow molds 88. Additionally, for thepurpose of rotating the bottom plates 586 when the neck ring assembliesand the glassware which they are holding are rotated, a bearing assembly582 is provided between each of the bottom plate holders 580 and theirsupporting shafts 572 whereby both the bottom plates 586 and the bottomplate holders are capable of rotating relative to the shafts 572.

Blowhead Mechanism

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 22-25, a blowhead mechanism includes agenerally C-shaped bracket member 614 which is mounted on the neck ringarm or plate member 222 and extends upwardly therefrom. The bracket 614includes upper and lower shaft supporting portions 618 and 620. Ablowhead shaft 622 is mounted in the upper and lower shaft supportingportions 618 and 620 of the bracket 614 for rotation therein. A coilspring 624 extends about the shaft 622 is positioned between the bottomportion of the bracket 614 and a thrust ring 626 attached to the shaft622. The spring 624 serves to bias the shaft 622 vertically upwardlyinto its upper position.

Attached to the shaft 622 for rotation therewith at a position above thethrust ring is a blowhead arm 628 having two identical blowheads 630 and632 at the free end thereof. A cam member 634 is positioned looselyaround the shaft 622 and includes a cam track 636 in its lower surface.The cam track 636 includes a inclined portion 638 and a straightvertical portion 640. A cam follower 642 in the form of a roller memberis mounted on the shaft 622 and is in engagement with the cam track 636of the cam member 634. If desired, the shaft 622 may be provided with asecond cam roller diametrically opposed to the one shown in FIG. 23which would engage another cam track similar to the cam track 636 shown.

A lever arm 644 is pivotally attached to the cam member 634 by means ofa pivot pin 646 and extends rearwardly toward the frame 38 of theforming unit 36 where it is attached to a cam follower 648. The camfollower 648 is actuated by a suitable cam 650 positioned in the slot652 of the cam drum. A spring member 654 is attached by means of aspring clip 656 to the upper portion of the bracket 614 and extendsrearwardly in the machine to another spring clip 658 which is attachedto the cam follower 648. The cam 650 tends to rotate the cam follower648 in a manner such that the blowheads 630 and 632 are moved into theirinactive dotted line position in FIG. 22. When the cam follower 648 isfree of the cam 650, the spring member 654 urges the lever arm 644 inthe opposite direction to rotate the blowhead arm 628 and blowheads 630and 632 into their solid line, operative position shown in FIG. 22.Thus, the blowheads 630 and 632 are positively held in their inoperativeposition out of alignment with the blow molds 88 by means of the cam 650and are moved by the spring member 654 into their inner or operativeposition over the blow molds 88. Mounted on the shaft 622 above thebracket 614 is a stop bracket member 660 having a downwardly extendingflange portion 662. A stop member 664 in the form of an adjustable screw666 is provided in the flange portion 662 to mate with a stop surface668 provided on the bracket member 614.

Each of the blowheads 630 and 632 includes a counterbore 670 in theblowhead arm 628 in which is mounted a retainer member 672 having athreaded portion 674 at its upper end secured to the blowhead arm 628 bymeans of a nut member 676. A retainer plate 678 is mounted on theretainer member 672 and is positioned between the bottom surface of theblowhead arm 628 and the upper surface of a flange 680 at the bottom ofthe retainer member 672. A spring loaded thrust bearing assembly 682 isprovided between the retainer plate 678 and the blowhead arm 628. Thebottom surface of the retainer plate 678 has a circular seal 684 mountedtherein for sealing engagement with the top surface of the plungerholder 238 of the neck ring assemblies 228 when the blowheads 630 and632 are in their operative position.

Blowing air is supplied to each blowhead 630 and 632 through a conduit688 provided in the blowhead arm 628 which mates with a chamber 690surrounding the retainer member 672 of each blowhead 630 and 632. Eachretainer member 672 is provided with an axial bore 692 communicatingwith a series of radial openings 694 which communicate with the chamber690. Spaced circumferentially outward of the central bore 692 in eachretainer member 672 is a plurality of axial bores 696 each communicatingwith a radial opening 698 which in turn communicates with a secondchamber 700 surrounding the retainer member 672. This chamber 700 is incommunication with a radially extending bore 702 in the blowhead arm 628to provide for exhaust of the blowing air.

The conduit 688 in a blowhead arm 628 is connected to a source of highand low pressure blowing air in suitable fashion through two camactuated solenoid valves 704 and 708, one 704 for high pressure air andthe other 708 for low pressure. The valves 704 and 708 are actuated bycam followers 710 and 712 mounted on the frame 38 of the forming unit 36which are actuated at the proper time by cams positioned in the cam slot714 for high pressure air and the cam slot 716 for low pressure air.

The operation of the blowhead mechanism as described above is controlledby the cam member 634. Normally, the cam member 634 holds the blowheadarm 628 in its inoperative position. The cam 650 on the cam drum 8 is soconstructed the when it is desired to operate the blowhead mechanism,the cam permits the spring member to move the leve arm to the left asshown in FIG. 22 causing the cam member 634 to rotate counterclockwise.Since the inclined portion 638 of the cam track 636 is in engagementwith the cam follower 642 mounted on the shaft 622, the rotation of thecam member 634 causes the shaft 622 and the attached blowhead arm 628 toalso rotate in the same direction. This rotation continues until thestop member 664 attached to the shaft by means of the stop bracketmember 660 abuts the stop surface 668 on the bracket 614 and therebyprevents further rotation of the shaft 622. Continued rotation of thecam member 634 relative to the shaft 622 causes the cam follower 642 onthe shaft 622 to ride down the inclined portion 638 of the cam track 636against the force of the spring 624 bearing on the thrust ring 626. Thisresults in the blowhead arm 628 having straight, vertical movement atthe end of its horizontal translation until the seal 684 in each of theretainer plates 678 is in proper engagement with the top surface of theplunger holders 238 of the neck ring assemblies 228.

When the cam 650 in the cam slot 652 on the cam drum 8 actuates the camfollower 648 to move the cam member 634 clockwise as shown in FIG. 22,the cam member 634 about the shaft 622 will rotate relative to the shaft622 permitting the cam follower 642 and the attached shaft 622 to movevertically upwardly as the cam follower 642 rides along the inclinedportion 638 of the cam track 636 providing a straight lift for theblowhead arm 628 until the cam follower 642 is engaged by the verticalportion 640 of the cam track 638 whereupon the shaft 622 and theblowhead arm 628 rotate with the cam member 634 into their inoperativeposition.

The upper portion of the cam member 634 is provided with an outwardlyextending tongue portion 718 as shown in FIG. 25. The bracket member 614at its upper portion is provided with a boss 720 having a bore 722therethrough. The upper portion of the boss 720 is provided with twoperpendicular cross cuts, one 724 of which is deeper than the other 726.A stop pin 728 having a pin 730 therethrough is positioned within thebore 722. The length of the stop pin 728 is such that when its pin 730is positioned within the shallowest cross cut 726, the stop pin does notextend through the bracket member 614 into position adjacent the tongue718 on the cam member 634. However, when the pin 730 in the stop pin 728is positioned in the deeper cross cut 724, the stop pin 728 will extendthrough the bracket member 618 into a position adjacent the edge of thetongue portion 718 on the cam member 634 when the blowhead arm 628 is inits out or inoperative position. This serves to positively hold theblowhead arm 628 in its out or inoperative position.

By virtue of the above construction, it is noted that the mechanism formoving the blowhead arm 628 in a horizontal plane and for also providingthe vertical lift is positioned above the blow molds 88. By virtue ofthis arrangement, this mechanism is not affected by the drippinglubricant from blow molds 88 as they are sprayed.

Cooling and Lubrication

To provide for cooling of the neck ring assemblies 228, the lower turretring 20 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided with an air inlet manifold 732which communicates with a manifold (not shown) in each of the framemembers 38 of the individual forming units 36 in a manner as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,211. Cooling air is supplied through themanifolds 732 as shown in FIG. 2, up through the manifold in the mainframe member 38 and through a manifold 734 in the neck ring arm or platemember 222 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16. The manifold 734 in the neckring arm 222 is split into two separate paths, one 736 of which directsair to a chamber 738 in the inner neck ring opening 226. The other path740 directs air to a chamber 742 in the outer neck ring opening 224.Suitable dampers 744 and 746 are provided in the paths 736 and 740leading to each of the neck ring openings 224 and 226 to adjust the flowof cooling air therethrough. These dampers 744 and 746 are mounted oncoaxial shafts 748 and 750 respectively and are adjustable by adjustingknobs 752 and 754 connected to the shafts 748 and 750 by lever members756 and 758.

If desired, an opening 760 in the side of the neck ring arm 222connecting with the manifold 734 may be provided to direct cooling airthrough air baffle arrangements 762 to direct air to the outside of theblow molds 88 as shown in FIG. 14.

To provide for lubrication of the interior of the blow molds 88 and thebottom plates 90, two blow mold spray nozzles 764 and 766 are providedon the blank mold holder arm 390 as shown in FIG. 10, one for each setof blow mold holders. Additionally, two lower nozzles 768 and 770positioned downwardly from the blank mold holder arm 390 are positionedto direct a spray of lubricant to the bottom plates 90. The lubricant,which in the usual case is water, is supplied to the nozzles 764, 766,768 and 770 through a suitable conduit 772 in the blank mold arm whichis connected to a lubricant source by any suitable means through a valve(not shown) which is actuated by rocker arm cam follower 774 which inturn is actuated at the proper time when the blank molds 88 are in theirup position by a cam member (not shown) positioned in cam track 776 inthe cam drum 8. By virtue of the above described construction it will benoted that the blow molds 88 and bottom plate 90 are lubricated bynozzles positioned on the blank mold holder arm 390 and, therefore, theblank molds 44 are positioned above and out of the way of thelubricating fluid and thus are not contaminated thereby. The lubricantfluid is supplied to the nozzles only when the blank mold holder arm 390is in its up position and the nozzles are in alignment with the blowmolds 88 and bottom plate 90 to prevent any contamination of the blankmolds.

IV. Take-Out and Transfer Mechanisms

A take-out mechanism 46 is provided for removing the glassware articlesfrom the individual forming units 36 after they have been blown intotheir final shape. The take-out mechanism 46 includes a plurality ofdead plates 92 mounted for rotation about the center axis 782 of thetake-out mechanism in a direction opposite the direction of rotation ofthe individual forming units 36 about the center axis of the machine.Each dead plate 92 has a pivot point 784 so that the dead plate 92 canpivot as it approaches the transfer mechanism 48 and engages a camsurface 786.

A set of two opposed transfer arms 788 and 790 extends over each of thedead plates 92 with each arm being provided with a C-shaped transferfinger 792. Each set of transfer arms 788 and 790 are cam actuated intotheir open position and spring biased into their closed position whereinthe transfer fingers 792 of each set partially surround the glassarticles on the dead plate. The glass articles are deposited on the deadplate 92 by opening the neck ring assemblies. At the same time, thetransfer fingers 792 close about the articles to provide a means forsteadying the articles. The take-out mechanism 46 is continuouslyrotated in timed relation to the rotation of the machine for sequentialpickup of glassware articles for successive forming units 36 on themachine. The take-out mechanism is timed through its drive mechanism tothe machine by its drive mechanism 70. The dead plates 92 rotate aroundthe center axis 782 until they are adjacent the transfer mechanism 48whereupon the glassware articles thereon are swept by the transfer arm790 onto the transfer mechanism 48.

The transfer mechanism 48 comprises two separate conveyors 794 and 796which are driven at different speeds. The two conveyor belts 794 and 796are driven by a motor 798 whose output shaft is connected through a gearbox 800 to a timing unit 802 known as a positively infinitely variablecontrol device (PIV) which allows the speed of the outer conveyor 794 tobe varied with respect to the inner conveyor 796 so that the outerconveyor 794 can be run at a faster speed than the inner conveyor 796.The control device 802 has one shaft 804 connected to the drive pulley(not shown) of the inner conveyor 796, and a second shaft 806 connectedto the drive pulley of the outer conveyor 794. With this arrangement,the two glass articles from a given deadplate 92 are deposited on thetransfer mechanism with the outer article 808 deposited on the outerconveyor 794 and the inner article 810 deposited on the inner conveyor796. The articles are swept onto the conveyors in a side-by-siderelationship which is substantially perpendicular to the direction ofmovement of the conveyors as indicated by the arrows. By virtue of thefact that the outer conveyor 794 is traveling at a faster speed, theouter glass article 808 will move ahead of the inner article 810.

The conveyors 794 and 796 transport the articles 808 and 810 to a linkbelt 812 having spaced fingers 814 thereon which form pockets for thereception of an article. The link belt 812 is driven by another motor816 having its drive shaft connected through a gear box to the driveshaft 818 of the drive sprocket 820. The position of the drive sprocket820 and one of the idler sprockets 822 provide a running section of thelink belt which is inclined with respect to the perpendicular to thedirection of travel of the conveyors 794 and 796. The glassware articleon the faster moving outer conveyor 794 will be received within a pocketcloser to the take-away conveyor 50 and spaced farther away from itspoint of deposit upon the conveyor 794 than the article placed on theslower conveyor 796. The take-away conveyor 50 extends parallel to andoverlaps the conveyors 794 and 796 and travels in a direction parallelto the conveyors 794 and 796. The fingers 814 on the link belt pass overthe take-away conveyor 50 whereby the articles, which were placed on thetransfer mechanism in double file, are placed upon the take-awayconveyor in single file.

V. Operation

The operation of the various mechanisms of an individual forming unit 36as the unit progresses through its cycle by rotation about the centeraxis of the machine may be understood by referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and26-35. As a unit passes from the point P-12 to the point P-1 shown inFIG. 4, the blank molds 44, which are in their outer and down position,pass underneath the deflectors 102 of the delivery mechanism 39. Asshown in FIG. 26, two gobs "G" are fed simultaneously from the feeder 40to the two blank molds 44. As the unit progresses from point P-1 topoint P-2, the blank molds 44 are swung in and raised upwardly intoengagement with the neck ring assemblies 228 and the plunger members 420and 422 begin their downward movement as shown in FIG. 27. Beforereaching point P-2, the plungers 420 and 422 have entered the blankmolds and press the parisons "P" as shown in FIG. 28. When the blankmolds 44 are in their raised position and the parisons "P" are beingformed, the lubricant spray "S" is initiated to lubricate the two setsof blow mold segments 480 and 482 as shown in FIG. 28A and also thebottom plates 90. The spray is cut off prior to the blank molds movinginto their down position shown in FIG. 29. Before point P-3 is reachedand after the parison "P" has been formed, the blank molds 44 drop downand the plungers 420 and 422 are moved upwardly out of the neck ringassemblies 228 and the rotation of the neck ring assemblies 228 torotate the parison "P" is begun.

At point P-3, the blank molds 44 are down, the blow molds 88 are closed,and the bottom plates 90 are moved up into engagement with the blowmolds 88 and the blowheads 630 and 632 come down into engagement withthe neck ring assemblies 228 as shown in FIGS. 30 and 31. Low pressureblowing air is fed through the blowheads 630 and 632 into the interiorof the parisons "P" to begin to form the parisons into the shape of thefinal articles as the neck ring assembly continues to rotate theparison. The application of low pressure air takes place approximatelyfrom point P-3 to point P-5 when high pressure air is applied up untilpoint P-10 to blow the articles into final shape while rotation iscontinued as shown in FIG. 30. Between point P-10 and P-11, the blow airis turned off and rotation stops.

At point P-11, the blow molds 88 are opened and the neck ring assemblies228 transport the blown articles to point P-12. As the unit approachespoint P-12, a dead plate 92 swings underneath the glassware articles andthe transfer fingers 792 are moved into surrounding relationship withrespect to the glassware articles as shown in FIG. 33. At station 12,the articles are released from the neck ring assembly and dropped ontothe dead plate 92 as shown in FIG. 34. The articles are transported bythe take-out mechanism 46 to the transfer mechanism 48 whereupon theyare moved onto the take-away conveyor 50 as schematically shown in FIG.35.

V. CONCLUSION

As pointed out before, one feature of the present invention is theprovision of a glassware forming apparatus of the type which includes aplurality of individual forming units rotatable about its central axis.In accordance with the present invention, each individual forming unitis capable of making a plurality of glassware articles during one cycle.

Another feature of the present invention, which has not beenspecifically pointed out previously, is the fact that all the operatingmechanisms of an individual forming unit are tied into the neck ring armof the individual forming units to enhance the alignment of the variousmechanisms during the glassware forming operation. Another such featureis the provision of separate means for closing the blow molds and movingthe bottom plates into engagement therewith. This ensures that properclamping pressures can be maintained between the blow mold segments andalso between the blow mold and bottom plate.

Although reference has been made to a specific embodiment orembodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and alterations may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it isintended that the scope of this invention can be ascertained byreference to the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a glassware forming apparatus, at least onesplit blow mold mounted on said machine for movement between its openand closed position, at least one bottom plate mounted on said machinefor movement into and out of engagement with said blow mold, blow moldmoving means for moving said blow mold between its open and closedposition, and bottom plate moving means for moving said bottom plateinto and out of engagement with said blow mold, said blow mold movingmeans being independently operable from said bottom plate moving means.2. In the glassware forming apparatus of claim 1, said blow mold movingmeans and said bottom plate moving means each including a separatepiston and cylinder mechanism.
 3. In a glassware forming apparatus, atleast one blow mold and at least one bottom plate, said bottom platebeing movable into and out of engagement with the bottom surface of saidblow mold to close the bottom of the blow mold, and means for movingsaid bottom plate toward said blow mold along a path in which saidbottom plate first pivots about a fixed pivot point and then moves alonga straight line coaxial with the axis of the blow mold into engagementwith said blow mold.
 4. The glassware forming machine of claim 3 whereinthere are a plurality of blow molds and a plurality of bottom platesequal in number to said blow molds.
 5. In the glassware forming machineof claim 3 said means for moving said bottom plate including an armpivotally attached at one end to a fixed pivot and having a shaftreceiving portion at the other end, a shaft mounted for axial movementin said shaft receiving portion with said bottom plate being attached tosaid shaft, a link pivotally attached at one end to said fixed pivot andat the other end pivotally connected to a sliding key slidably mountedin said shaft, a stop member on said arm, and means for pivoting saidlink about said pivot point until said stop member abuts a stop surfacewhereupon continued movement of the link results in straight-line axialmovement of said shaft with respect to said shaft receiving portion. 6.The glassware forming machine of claim 5 wherein there are a pluralityof blow molds and a plurality of bottom plates equal in number to saidblow molds, said bottom plates being attached to said shaft.
 7. Theglassware forming machine of claim 5 further including means foradjusting the height of said shaft with respect to said shaft receivingportion.